Best Bets for Friday, Sept. 16, 2011: Atmosphere and OMD

ATMOSPHEREThis year has been a good one for middle-aged white rappers. In May, the Beastie Boys releasedHot Sauce¿ Committee Part Two, the group’s eighth album, and best since 1994’s Ill Communication. That it sat on a shelf for two years before its release diminished the album’s immediacy not one bit. A month earlier, Atmosphere released its seventh album, The Family Sign, which, much like the Beasties’ effort, finds an aging group not trying to relive past glories but attempting — and succeeding — to create new ones. Led by the charismatic, ever-evolving rapper Slug, Atmosphere hails from Minneapolis, home to once-obnoxious acts (the Replacements, Prince, Bob Mould and Hüsker Dü) for whom maturity turned out to be a rather comfortable fit. A 39-year-old father whose history is marked by identity crises,alcohol abuse and tragedy (a 16-year-old fan was murdered by a janitor backstage at an Atmosphere show in 2003, an incident Slug has said changed his perspective on life and art), Atmosphere’s frontman seems to have reconciled his past with his present. The Family Sign champions solidarity over solitude, integrity over irrationality, responsibility over recklessness. This is not to say Slug has gone soft. Even when he’s celebrating monogamy (“She’s Enough”) or politely brushing off an old acquaintance (“Your Name Here”), the rapper makes it clear that his path to self-acceptance has not been an easy one, and the music supporting him is unfailingly tense. Or maybe this is all baloney. As Slug told Pitchfork earlier this year, “There are a lot of fictitious narratives on [The Family Sign], so I don't know how to categorize it. I'm seen as the guy that creates autobiographical songs and I let people run with it. But let's be honest. If those songs were autobiographical, I would've died from, like, whiskey poisoning.” Friday, Atmosphere will play the Fillmore Miami Beach, with opening acts Evidence and Blueprint.Location: The Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave.Time: 8 p.m.Cost: $22Contact: 305-673-7300 or Fillmoremb.com

ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARKOrchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark will play Miami Friday. Let that kick around in your brain for a bit. OMD, a group that forever will be associated with the late filmmaker John Hughes and, in particular, his landmark (yes, landmark) 1986 film Pretty in Pink. OMD, whose contribution to that film’s soundtrack, “If You Leave,” was the prom song of the new-wave era. OMD, who helped make it near impossible for us — boys and girls, men and women alike — not to fall madly in love with Molly Ringwald. OMD — yes, that OMD — is coming to Miami. Just don’t tell that dick Steff McKee.Location: Grand Central, 697 N. Miami Ave., MiamiTime: 8 p.m.Cost: $35Contact: 305-377-2277 or Grandcentralmiami.com